Also known as: truth of the matter asserted · matter asserted
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A purpose for which an out-of-court statement is offered in evidence when the proponent seeks to establish the factual accuracy of the assertion contained in the statement. Relevance of the statement then turns on whether the assertion is true rather than on some other consequence such as its effect on a listener.
Harborview LLC offered a text from broker Dana stating that the landlord had accepted a lower rent offer. Harborview introduced the text solely to explain why it stopped negotiating with other landlords. The court admitted the text because its relevance did not depend on whether the landlord had actually accepted.
The prosecution called an expert who relied on a nontestifying lab's DNA profile to form an independent opinion matching the defendant's sample. The expert did not repeat the report's conclusions for their accuracy. The court permitted the testimony because the profile served only as the foundation for the expert's own analysis.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Plaintiff offered an accident investigator's report containing pilot statements about aircraft performance. The proponent used the report only to show the investigator's state of mind when preparing findings. The court admitted the report because its probative value did not require accepting the pilot statements as true.
The prosecution introduced a witness's out-of-court description of an assault to prove that the defendant had attacked the victim. The statement was made to police and the witness did not testify at trial. The court excluded the statement because it was offered to establish the events described.
The prosecution offered a co-defendant's post-arrest statement describing the defendant's role in the crime. The statement was introduced to prove the events recounted. The court treated the statement as offered for the truth of the matter asserted.
The prosecution introduced a witness's earlier description of a robbery to prove that the defendant had committed the offense. The witness testified at trial but the prior statement was offered for its factual content. The court analyzed the statement under the rule governing offers for the truth of the matter asserted.
A statement is not offered for its truth when it is introduced to show its effect on the listener or to explain subsequent conduct. In the Harborview lease case the broker text explained why negotiations stopped regardless of whether acceptance actually occurred. The same principle applied when CodeForge used the Slack message only to explain the engineer's redesign decision.
Supporting sources
Offering a statement to prove notice does not make it hearsay if the proponent does not rely on the truth of the underlying assertion. Maria offered the customer's remark to show MegaMart had prior notice of the wet aisle. The court treated the remark as hearsay because Maria sought to prove that the customer had actually warned the clerk.
Supporting sources
The purpose determines whether the statement meets the definition of hearsay. Apex offered Lewis's note only to show his belief about Reed's risk acceptance. Because the note's relevance did not depend on Reed actually understanding the risk the note was not hearsay.
Supporting sources
…Court has long held that the right of confrontation does not apply to out-of-court statements that are not offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted. The text of the Confrontation Clause reflects this focus. It applies to “witnesses” against the accused—those who bear testimony. A witness is one who bears testimony, and testimony refers…